Get Wisdom.
Your life depends on it!
Having wisdom is more than just some do’s and don’ts or just obtaining it. Rightly applied, it helps us to exercise good judgment and to live a godly life. We have to live it out and apply it to our lives or we don’t have it at all. Get wisdom, friends. And then live your life guided by it. When we “get it” and understand our purpose in this life, we don’t waste this life.
Solomon has some lessons for us from Proverbs 4-5.
Proverbs 4:1-8 CSB says:
“Listen, sons, to a father’s discipline, and pay attention so that you may gain understanding, 2 for I am giving you good instruction. Don’t abandon my teaching. 3 When I was a son with my father, tender and precious to my mother, 4 he taught me and said, “Your heart must hold on to my words. Keep my commands and live. 5 Get wisdom, get understanding; don’t forget or turn away from the words from my mouth. 6 Don’t abandon wisdom, and she will watch over you; love her, and she will guard you. 7 Wisdom is supreme—so get wisdom. And whatever else you get, get understanding. 8 Cherish her, and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honor you.”
Get Wisdom So You Can Give It.
These opening verses remind us of the importance of dads teaching their children. Our kids need us to impart wisdom to them and to show them what matters most in this life.
Solomon, who knew that what he needed most from God was wisdom to lead God’s people, as we saw last week, he did not apply that wisdom to his life well.
Solomon shared some do’s and don’ts, but without wisdom, it is a to do or not to do list.
Get Wisdom So You Can Live It.
Wisdom gives us understanding. Having understanding is having insight or good judgment. When we “get it” and understand our purpose in this life, we don’t waste this life. Wisdom can guide us if we apply it to our lives. At the end of his life Solomon realized that the purpose of our lives is to fear God.
We see this in Ecclesiastes 12:1
“Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”
And in Ecclesiastes 12:9-13
9 “Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. 10 The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.
11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”
Get Understanding.
This life is all about God, not us. Solomon understood in the end. This personification of wisdom is a way for us to grasp the effect of wisdom on our lives. We see in Proverbs 4 that wisdom:
- Watches over us and guards us (v. 5)
- Exalts us and honors us (v. 8)
- Gives us favor and beauty (v. 9)
- Protects our steps so we don’t stumble (v. 12)
Scripture of the Day: Proverbs 4:5-7
5 “Get wisdom; develop good judgment. Don’t forget my words or turn away from them. 6 Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you. Love her, and she will guard you. 7 Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment.”
The definition of judgment is the ability to make considered decisions or come to sensible conclusions. Solomon encourages us to get wisdom, but to also apply it to our lives so we will make sound decisions. Ask God for wisdom when you are not sure which decision to make. And ask Him for wisdom in relationships. Ask Him for wisdom in raising your children.
Guard Your Heart and Mind
One of my favorite verses is Proverbs 4:23, “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.”
Proverbs 4:23 (GNT) has a wonderful translation of this verse that brings to home how to apply guarding our heart:
23 “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.”
Be careful how we think. If we ask for wisdom as it says in James 1:5, wisdom will help us in all of the decisions we have to make in this world:
“If anyone of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault.”
In Proverbs 5, we see Solomon is warning against the seductive woman.
Get Wisdom to Protect Yourself
11 At the end of your life, you will lament when your physical body has been consumed,12 and you will say, “How I hated discipline, and how my heart despised correction. 13 I didn’t obey my teachers or listen closely to my instructors. 14 I am on the verge of complete ruin before the entire community.”
And then later Solomon shares just how destructive it is to live for our flesh and the distractions of this world:
20 Why, my son, would you lose yourself with a forbidden woman or embrace a wayward woman? 21 For a man’s ways are before the Lord’s eyes, and he considers all his paths. 22 A wicked man’s iniquities will trap him; he will become tangled in the ropes of his own sin. 23 He will die because there is no discipline, and be lost because of his great stupidity.”
How about you, friends? Do you have wisdom? Have you asked God for it? And are you applying it to your life so you exercise good judgment?
Live for one, friends. Submit your lives to God and walk in wisdom.
7-Fold One-Year Bible Reading Plan Day #173: Proverbs 4-5
Scripture of the Day: Proverbs 4:5-7
Listen: https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/Prov.4
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